Medical devices including a balloon that can be expanded to secure one end of the medical device within the body are known in the art. Such devices include urinary catheters, gastrostomy tubes and a variety of other indwelling catheters. Typically, these devices include a catheter having an expandable balloon secured to the distal end of the catheter. The distal end of the catheter is inserted through a body orifice, a stoma, or a small incision into a body organ or body cavity. Next, fluid is injected through a passage in the medical device using, for example, a syringe to inflate the balloon to prevent removal of the distal end of the medical device from the organ or cavity.
One problem associated with medical devices having a securement balloon is that the balloon is the weakest part of the device and over time is susceptible to breakage. Although the safe, useful life of a securement balloon can be easily determined via laboratory testing under prescribed operating conditions, the safe, useful life of a securement balloon is very difficult to determine where clinicians fail to deliver the prescribed amount fluid to inflate the balloon. For example, overfilling a balloon reduces the operating life of the balloon.
Accordingly, a continuing need exists in the medical arts for a medical device having a securement balloon allowing a clinician to repeatedly and accurately fill a balloon with the prescribed amount of fluid.